


a cemetery for pilgrims

by carrieevew



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Season/Series 03
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-02
Updated: 2016-03-02
Packaged: 2018-05-24 06:10:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6144076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carrieevew/pseuds/carrieevew
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clarke goes to the City of Lights and meets Wells. canon divergence.</p>
            </blockquote>





	a cemetery for pilgrims

**Author's Note:**

> i'd like to thank [Aroha](http://archiveofourown.org/users/AJRedfern/pseuds/AJRedfern) for convincing me to keep writing canon divergence and encouraging me to finish this. thank you, love!
> 
> i started writing this over a week ago, before 3x06 ever happened so this includes almost none of the revelations about ALIE that we learned there. and i may or may not have decided to just ignore canon because why the hell not. i'd like to apologise for any and all mistakes you find in here and, quite possibly, some plot holes? i literally just finished it and really wanted to put it out there.
> 
> the title comes from Zbigniew Herbert's poem called "Hakeldama" and i was listening to Ludovico Einaudi's [_Oltremare_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adudqtq2gBw).
> 
> enjoy!

Clarke stood at the top of wide, marble stairs. There was an entire city spreading in front of her and it took her breath away. It was a strange kind of an amazement. Clarke has never thought that anything man-made could ever compare to the wonders that nature had created. Maybe it's because she'd never had much experience with architecture; all the monuments of the human kind's greatness were now gone and whatever was left only stood as a reminder of the obliterating war that drove her people into space in the first place.

This, however, was different. This city was _whole_. The buildings stood proudly in precise blocks, the sun reflecting in the unbroken glass. Nothing was cracked or dirty, it all looked peaceful and ready for people to move in. It was a serene place filled with possibilities, where families could thrive, build a new society. It was all so—

"Beautiful." Clarke whispered to herself.

"You know that none of this is real, though, don't you?" Clarke startled at the sound of someone's voice behind her. She entered the City of Light alone and didn't see a single person around; yet someone was there with her. And she knew that voice, she'd spent almost her entire life listening to that voice. She spun on her heel and came face to face with the person she'd never expected to see, ever again.

"Wells," Clarke choked out, completely frozen in place. He looked the same way he did when she last saw him, _six months ago_. It was a shocking realisation, that only six months had passed since Wells died because for Clarke, it felt like she’d already lived through several lifetimes. "What is—how are you here?"

"I'm not. I'm not real either, Clarke. I'm just a composite, created by ALIE because I'm the person you lost and you miss me." Wells' voice was unnervingly calm and Clarke felt an odd discomfort. He talked about his own death like it was just something that happened to him and he didn't feel right. Like a part of him was missing. But he was still Wells and she did miss him.

Clarke took a few steps towards him and outstretched her hand. It landed on his shoulder and it felt just as firm as she remembered. Clarke felt tears pooling in her eyes as she pulled him to her for a hug. Wells' arms went around her instantly and she melted into his embrace, crying.

They stood like that for a while until Wells moved away from Clarke and led her to a bench behind him. Clarke looked at it and couldn't for the life of her remember if it was standing there before. They sat down, side by side, and looked at the city in front of them.

"Look at all those possibilities, Wells." Clarke said with a sigh. "Just think about it, how much easier would our lives be here."

"Yes, they would. You would all feel comfortable and sated." Wells answered her in the same even and calm voice that didn't make _her_ feel comfortable at all. She looked at him with narrowed eyes and he smiled again, only this time there was sadness in his eyes. "You would all think you're happy but none of you would ever be really satisfied."

"Why not?" Clarke asked sharply. "What is so wrong about this life, Wells?"

"What is wrong is that it isn't living at all. It's barely even existing. If ALIE has it her way, you'll all end up plugged in here until your bodies wither and die and your minds remain here. But you wouldn't be you anymore. Just whatever is left after the last scan of your brain." Wells told her and took her hand into his. "The dead you'll meet here, none of them are people anymore, Clarke. They have no souls. We're all just computer files."

"How do you know all those things? You were never very good with computers, you know." Clarke said with a smirk. It was a lot to take in, what Wells was saying. She wanted to catch him on a lie and reassure herself that the City of Lights was real. A viable option. But at the same time, she believed him. Her eyes might have been deceiving her but his were sure and truthful. Still, if there was even a hint of hope that she could stay in this world that felt so whole, she wanted to cling to that hope for as long as she could.

"You're right, I wasn't. That's all Raven." Wells said with traces of laughter in his voice. Clarke looked at him, surprised.

"I didn't know you knew Raven."

“I don’t think I did. There’s nothing in Raven’s mind that suggest we were ever acquainted but she knew who I was and knew enough about me to form an opinion.”

“Was it good?” Clarke teased him with a cocked eye brow. She missed this, so much. Just talking to Wells, simply being his friend, not facing decisions and expectations.

“It wasn’t a bad one.” Wells grinned at her. “But she didn’t care about me enough to give it any more thought.” Wells laughed lightly and Clarke couldn’t help but join him. She’s almost forgotten how easy it was, before her father died and her whole life changed. It seemed quite surreal now, thinking about their lives on the Ark, when they still could be just kids. She looked at him, thinking about the countless evening spent playing chess or watching old movies together. And then Wells’ smile faded and his face turned serious.

 "You're gonna need Raven's help, Clarke. She might be under my father's influence right now but her mind doesn't sleep. She understands how this program works, she'll know what to do."

"What to do about what?" Clarke asked, her brow furrowed. Wells wanted her to do something. She knew that tone of voice, the warning in it. He was rarely adamant like that, always supporting others and their ability to make their own choices so whenever she heard him speak like that, Clarke knew that it was quite a big deal.

“Shut her down, of course," Wells told her. He saw the confusion and shock on his friend's face and added, "you have to understand, Clarke, this place is not a safe haven. ALIE is dangerous. She is searching for an update and she has some sort of a plan. I don't know it but I doubt it could ever end well.”

Clarke looked at Wells like he just sprouted a second head. Why on earth would he tell her to destroy a program that created him? She knew that he was telling the truth about that one, though. No matter how much she wanted him to really be there, to still exist in her life, she knew. So maybe because of that, she couldn't help but doubt his words. Computer programs don't have suicidal tendencies, do they? Even if he was pulled for her memories, he was still just a version of Wells, created by the AI operating the City of Lights. Was it possible that he really meant his words? Or maybe this was just some sick play? Maybe he was just sent to her because ALIE knew she'd trust him. But even if, what was the point of that? What could ALIE possibly gain from trying to turn Clarke against her?

"You are very self-aware," Clarke said with suspicion in her voice. "If you really are a part of this program, shouldn't you try to keep it alive? Why would I believe a single word you're saying?" Wells smiled at her and tilted his head, thinking.

"I think I'm a glitch," he said slowly, like he was only just coming up with that conclusion, still searching for words. "I think it's because ALIE doesn't have any real scans of me, she had to build me up from the ground, based only on the memories she found in the scans of other residents. I think that in order to keep me the way I'm supposed to be, she's sending all the unfiltered data through me. I think that she doesn't have enough computing power to maintain the program and supervise all of its non-essential components, and she's focusing on the more important task."

"You think you're non-essential?" Clarke asked. "What does that mean?"

"Of course I am. My only purpose here is to serve as a motivation for you and my father to stay inside. It doesn’t matter what I do or say as long as it means that you don't leave. And if she doesn’t like something, she can always scrub me and start from the beginning." Clarke's jaw fell in shock and Wells seemed to have noticed because he smiled again. "It's okay, Clarke, I do not even exist. Once you leave this place, I won't go on living my life, I'll just stay here, right here, awaiting your return."

Clarke felt a tear rolling down her cheek. Wells sounded serene, like he didn't just tell her that he was completely unimportant, his entire existence meaning absolutely nothing. There was no sadness in his eyes and Clarke took his hand in hers, squeezing gently.

"What if I don't leave?" Clarke whispered, resting her head on Wells' shoulder. "I could just stay here, with you. It's been so long since there were just the two of us."

"You could. But you don't really want that, do you?" Wells squeezed back her hand. "You have people you love out there. You came back to them once, you wouldn't leave them again."

"Only they don't really want me back, Wells. They don't need me anymore."

"Yes, Clarke, they do." Wells moved away from her and shifted in his seat so they were almost facing each other. "You have friends there, a family, and they all care about you. They were hurt when you left them, of course they were, but they still care for you. When you really love someone, it doesn't just go away. And they do love you, Clarke. _All of them._ " Wells sent her a knowing look and Clarke averted her eyes.

She knew who he was talking about but couldn't let herself believe his words. She was just projecting. She was hoping and Wells only picked up on that because there was no way this could ever be true. In the weeks that passed since she came back home for good, she and Bellamy hadn't talked, at all. He would go stiff every time he saw her and then either turn around and walk away or just ignore her if he couldn’t leave. It felt like there was a knife stuck in her gut and every time Bellamy walked away from her felt like he was twisting it and pushing it even further. He never looked her in the eye anymore, either.

The first few days after she came back, Clarke desperately wanted to talk to him and explain—everything. The fight they had the last time she snuck into Arkadia kept replaying in her head, the look raw pain that twisted his face was now permanently etched into her brain. She wanted to apologise for leaving him with the burden of taking care of their people but he wasn’t interested in listening.

"Not all of them, Wells." Clarke felt that more tears were threatening to spill so she closed her eyes and let her head drop slightly. She let out a breath of air and felt Wells’ palm cupping her cheek, pulling her face towards him again.

“Clarke,” Wells said, his voice gentle and he looked into her eyes. “You’re forgetting that I have seen the two of you through the eyes of everyone who came in here. What you and Bellamy have, it’s something truly special. And I know that you know it, too.” Wells paused for a moment, his eyes out of focus, like he was searching for words. Or perhaps information, Clarke thought.

“Everyone could see how much you mean to him,” Wells continued. “Raven thinks that both of your lives would be easier if you two could just hate each other and move on but you can’t  do it, can you?” he asked and Clarke shook her head. Wells smiled a beautiful smile at her and made a face like he knew something she didn’t realise yet. Which, considering everything that he’d told her, was pretty much a given.

“You two have something that is worth fighting for, Clarke. But it is going to be a fight and you have to figure out if you’re willing to work for it.”

“Yes.” Her response was so quiet she wasn’t even sure if she really said it out loud. It didn’t make it any less true though and Wells knew it.

“Then _fight for it_. I have not seen you give up on anything in your life. Don’t give up on that either.”

Clarke only nodded in response. She scooted closer to Wells and put her arms around his shoulders, hugging him close to her. “I miss you so much.”

“I know you do.” He enveloped her in his arms, too.

“And I never thought that I’d ever hear _you_ telling me to fix my relationship with _Bellamy_.” She let put a small laugh and Wells chuckled as well.

“We did have some disagreements, yes. But I can see that we could probably manage to find some common ground if we were given a chance.” Wells’ voice was light when he said that but Clarke went still against him and started pulling away until he stopped her halfway. “Clarke, please, don’t do this to yourself. Don’t feel guilty for all the things that you had no control over and leave this place. This is not something I would ever want for you. A world without pain sounds like a wonderful idea but without pain and suffering, we’d never recognise the good things that happen to us. We’d never know if something is really special and when it is, it’s worth the pain.”

Wells tugged her towards him one last time before whispering into her hair “please, leave this place now. And don’t come back here.”

Clarke rested her forehead on his shoulder and inhaled deeply. He was right, she knew he was. She couldn’t go back to the way things were and if she wanted to have her people by her side again, she had to fix it herself.

***

And just like that, Wells was gone and so was the whole world around her. She gasped as she came back to the real world. She rubbed her cheeks and felt them wet from tears but she smiles despite the sadness over losing her friend again, even if he was just a faint impression of him. She stood up from where she was sitting on the floor, propped against a cold metal wall of the remains of the work station and went outside.

She noticed Octavia walking towards the stables and decided to follow the girl. The two of them had a lot of issues to resolve and there was no better moment to start doing that than right now.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! feedback is always appreciated :-)  
> come visit me on tumblr ([carrieeve](http://carrieeve.tumblr.com))


End file.
